Justification of practices

Justification is one of the key principles of radiological protection, established by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, which the UK’s radiological framework is based on.

The principle of justification is that no practice involving exposures to radiation should be adopted unless it produces sufficient benefit to the exposed individuals or to society to offset the radiation detriment it causes.

The Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1769) came into force on 2 August 2004.

The regulations transpose into UK law the justification requirements of two European Directives, which protect the health of individuals against the dangers of ionising radiation:

Council Directive 96/29/Euratom of 13 May 1996 laying down basic safety standards to protect the health of workers and the general public against the dangers arising from ionising radiation
Council Directive 97/43/Euratom of 30 June 1997 on health protection of individuals against the dangers of ionising radiation in relation to medical exposure, and repealing Directive 84/466/Euratom

Under these Directives, a particular class or type of practice needs to be justified, not individual uses. For new classes or types of practice, (i.e. those which are undertaken for the first time after the 1996 Directive came into force on 13 May 2000), justification is required before they are first adopted.

Existing classes or types of practice (i.e. those which were being undertaken before 13 May 2000) may be reviewed to see if they are justified or not, whenever new and important evidence about their efficacy or consequences is acquired.

The regulations provide the framework in which future justification decisions in the UK will be taken. They set out, among other things, what applications need to be made, who takes justification decisions and how the regulations will be enforced.

Because of the time lag between the entry into force of the 1996 Directive (13 May 2000) and the regulations (2 August 2004), transitional provisions are also included. These relate to any new classes or types of practice carried out for the first time in the UK after 13 May 2000, but before these regulations came into force. Earlier expressly determined justifications decisions are also recognised by these regulations.

The concordat sets out an agreed framework between UK Government and the devolved administrations on how to co-ordinate the administration of the justification process within Government. Annex C of the document lists the Government Departments who have signed the concordat.

Concordat on the implementation of the Justification of Practices Involving Ionising Radiation Regulations 2004

Guidance accompanies the regulations and provides applicants and other interested parties with information on their application and provides a list of existing practices in Annex 3 (on page 29). This list is not necessarily exhaustive and may change as evidence comes to light of a class or type of practice existing prior to 13 May 2000. The guidance is subject to amendment in the light of the operation of the regulations. (last updated May 2008)

Guidance on the Justification Regulations 2004

Justification register

DECC maintains the Justification register (last updated February 2011).

This includes information on:

all applications received including those of the Secretary of State under Regulations 9, 10, or 12
justification decisions and decision letters, where appropriate
transitional arrangement determinations for new classes and types of practice and earlier justification decisions
determinations of reviewed existing practices
determinations of whether a practice is new or existing
re-determinations of decisions that existing practices are not justified

Contacts

Please address any enquiries about the Justification of Practices Regulations to:

Justification Application Centre (JAC)
Area 3C
3 Whitehall Place
London, SW1A 2AW
Tel: 0300 068 6101
Email: justification_application_centre@decc.gsi.gov.uk